The Symposium
by I saw the monster in you
Summary: "According to Greek Mythology, humans were originally created with four arms, four legs and a head with two faces. Fearing their power, Zeus split them into two separate beings, condemning them to spend their lives in search of their other halves." -Plato's 'The Symposium' *Extremely slight AU* *Rated M for paranoia*
1. Warm welcome

**Hey guys! I know I have two other stories, but this popped in my mind one night and I've decided to run with it to see if it leads me anywhere! I hope you guys enjoy this. It's a very slight AU, for some of the things I've added in or altered, but other than that, you should find everything in it's general vicinity. Please read and review! I don't own these characters, Mashima has that honor.**

**Personal note:****I took my permit test today and passed it! Didn't miss a single question! Enjoy your day :)**

You were born one of two things: normal, or a mage. If you were born a mage, it was apparent; in your demeanor, in your abilities, in the air around you. If you were normal, it was also apparent. It was such a sharp contrast from someone born a mage that it was easily distinguished. In Fiore, and most of they world, people were taught from a young age that no matter what they were, there was someone else out there that fit perfectly for them. Their "other half," they were mostly called. Others called them "soul mates," a term also easily accepted. It was said that you would be able to tell when you met your soul mate. They were a person who saw the worst in you and stayed, and brought the best out in you, so others would too. Soul mates existed for everyone, but for mages with dragon slayer magic, they were given a destined mate: someone they would love and protect, someone who would be the mother or father to their children, who would care for them unconditionally.

She sighed loudly while staring at her ceiling. It was a cold afternoon in late November, and she had just celebrated Thanksgiving with her nakama the other day. This was the first time she had been alone since the _week_ of Thanksgiving, and to be honest, she was finding it all dreadfully boring. The blonde curled onto her side and sighed through her nose, watching outside her window. _'I wonder what Natsu and the others are doing.'_ Lucy groaned aloud, realizing it had not even been 24 hours and she was already busy thinking of her friends, especially her more destructive ones. Before she could entertain the thought of suffocation-through-pillow, she heard a knock at her door. Lucy laid there a moment, hoping that if she didn't move from her semi-warm spot on her bed, then the person would leave. No. Such. Luck. The pounding came back with a vengeance, and Lucy half screamed-half groaned so loud that the noise at her door halted. When she had finally made it to her living room, she heard them.

"Luce?" The blonde rolled her eyes. Flinging her door open, she looked on a very sheepish Natsu. She cocked her hip and crossed her arms.

"What are you doing here Natsu?" His onyx gaze skirted away from her own for a moment before he glanced back.

"I was bored!" He whined loudly, causing Lucy to jump back in shock. He dropped to his knees and clung to the celestial mage's legs. "Happy left me to go on a mission with Wendy and Carla! Can you believe that?!" The blonde squeaked and tried to pry the larger man off of her.

"Natsu!" She hissed, looking around to see if anyone saw the spectacle happening in front of her door. Luckily for her, there was no one, _yet._ After another minute of his clinging, the blonde clenched her jaw and gripped her best friend's pink locks, lifting his face to hers. His voice lifted at least three octaves, screeching in pain, before he focused on her face. _"Are you finished?"_ Her voice sent a chill through the dragon slayer and he nodded briskly. **_"THEN GET IN HERE."_**

While she led her terrified friend inside, she couldn't help but smile. He did always seem to know her best. She brought the fire dragon slayer to her couch, forcefully sitting him down before walking to her kitchen to reheat some jalapeno poppers she had made for him for Thanksgiving. Meanwhile she made some tea for herself. Trying to keep her mind off of the chill in her apartment (her heat had been acting wonky for some reason) she started to speak.

"Have you been to the guild lately?" It was silent for a beat before Natsu decided that it must have been safe enough to speak.

"Yeah. I went there this morning. Everyone said that they hoped you had a great Thanksgiving, and they hope to see you soon. I also heard that Laxus was coming home soon." From the kitchen, Lucy furrowed her brows. She pulled her tea kettle off of the oven, hearing it whistle. She poured the hot water into a black mug that had a Shakespeare quote that read "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players." She took a test sip, before grabbing her mug and Natsu's poppers, to head into the living room and sit on the ground in front of her table. He thanked her for the food with a signature grin before he dove in. Lucy smiled at him, before sipping her tea to cover it up when he looked at her again. She knew what he was going to say, but cut him off.

"It's been 2 years since I joined Fairy Tail and I still haven't met everybody yet?" She gave a small laugh. Natsu just watched her for a minute before she asked who Laxus was. Natsu seemed to perk up slightly.

"He's jii-san's grandson! He's a dragon slayer like me, Gajeel, and Wendy, but he's second generation, cuz he wasn't trained by an actual dragon." Lucy nodded, admittedly curious.

"I never knew we had so many strong mages." Natsu nodded furiously.

"He's one of the strongest, and part of the Raijinshu, one of the strongest teams in Fairy Tail. His other members are Freed, Evergreen and Bixlow." Lucy nodded, immediately recognizing the names. She had seen Evergreen with Elfman on more than one occasion, and Bixlow likes to terrorize people (particularly her) with his little dolls. So far into her thoughts, she didn't realize that she was shivering until Natsu spoke.

"Are you cold, Lucy?" The blonde snapped out of her musings.

"Eh? Oh no, I'm fine Natsu!" She tried to smile at the dragon, but when his dark black eyes narrowed on her, she inwardly deflated.

"I watched you shiver Lucy. You're cold." He told her. Just as she was going to tell him he was full of it, another shiver wracked her body. She blushed at his smug look, despite the cold, and ducked her head. He laughed aloud, and she heard him pat the couch.

"Come sit with me Luce! I have enough heat for the both of us." Sighing loudly, the blonde stood, before sitting on the other end of the small couch, her feet tucked under the cushion Natsu was sitting on. He only grinned at her as she felt his temperature rise.

They had hung out well into the night, with Lucy barely able to keep her eyes open. Natsu, on the other hand, was chattering excitedly, talking to her about life when he had grown up with Erza, Gray, and the others. Lucy had to admit that it was cute, seeing his face light up with a childlike joy at all of his good memories.

"And then _Cana_ had walked over, completely starting the fight between Mira and Erza...let me tell you...-" faintly, Lucy could hear him trail off, but she wasn't sure why. Before she could ask him, she felt warm hands grasp her upper arms, and under her legs. She heard the dragon slayer grunt slightly, and she felt airborne. Still, she was curious as to why her best friend had stopped telling her about his childhood. After all, it was much better than her own. She blindly grabbed for Natsu's arm, murmuring for him to "Don't stop." His deep chuckles met her ears, as he responded just as softly.

"Lucy, you're such a weirdo...can't you tell you're asleep?" Before she could ponder on his words, darkness engulfed her.

Slowly, as if she were still dreaming, she could start to hear the traffic below her apartment. Listening, she found her house to be quiet, except for the sound of quiet snoring, along with a firm grip around her waist. Still, she felt as though she were still asleep, and paid no mind to it. Only when the grip tightened, and she felt someone nuzzle into her side, did she finally awake with a start. The blonde looked down, seeing a shock of salmon hair. She was quick to anger, and ripped the covers off of herself and Natsu, before a cold blast of air had her wrenching them back over. She shivered for a few minutes, before she tried to shake out of Natsu's grasp. "Natsu!" She yelled, not in the mood to play this game. His snoring stopped, and he sat up, blearily blinking at the celestial mage.

"Huh?" He questioned, the blanket falling off of his shoulders. He was shirtless, as usual, but he seemed unaffected by the cold. Lucy silently envied Natsu for his fire magic and higher-than-normal body temperature. She groped for the covers as she watched recognition enter his coal orbs before he grinned.

"Morning Lucy!" The blonde couldn't help but roll her eyes. By now, she had wrapped herself tightly in her blankets, watching Natsu with a glare that rivaled the chill in her bedroom. He situated himself, facing the mage crisscross with his bright grin. She was finding it hard to stay mad at the dragon slayer. Lucy took a slow and deep breath, before she decided to start.

"Natsu..." she began very carefully. He jumped to attention. "Why are you in my bed?" His broad grin faltered, but only slightly. He looked at her as though she were _stupid. _

"It was cold," he explained. She felt him raise his body temperature. "it still is." he commented, reaching for Lucy's comforter.

"Don't make yourself at home and sneak into my bed!" She yelled. He winced slightly at the high tone, but he frowned at Lucy.

"I meant that _you _were." His large hand wrapped around her upper arm, his heat a sharp contrast to the cold room. Lucy was left staring at him, dumbfounded., realizing what he had meant. Before she could try to form some sort of apology, Natsu brushed her off, grinning.

"Lucy is so silly..." Before she could ask him 'just who he was saying that to?!,' a tapping at her window broke her out of her violent thoughts.

A frozen little blue cat was staring at them with an icicle dripping from his nose. Lucy and Natsu watched him in shock, while he waved. Natsu seemed to unfreeze first, jumping across her bed to wrench open the window. It let open a blast of cold air, and Happy. Lucy shrunk further into her covers, her teeth chattering.

"H-happy!" Natsu crushed his friend into his chest, and Lucy felt the temperature skyrocket. In a matter of moments, a dry and noticeably _warmer_ Happy was ambling towards Lucy. She allowed him entrance under her covers, where he curled up at her chest, purring out an 'Aye!' Natsu sat down on the edge of the bed, still shirtless.

"Why did you fly here in this kinda weather Happy?" The exceed frowned, trying to remember, although it was hard with Lucy petting him so gently.

"Oh, Laxus is back!" Lucy suppressed a smirk at the simple cat, while Natsu's excitement became palpable. In a flash, he had on his vest and scarf, gripping Lucy's upper arms.

"Get dressed Lucy! What are you waiting for? C'mon, we need to get to the guild NOW!" He ran out of her room, cackling, barely able to contain his energy now. The blonde sighed, shaking her head, before nudging Happy off of her apologetically.

The wind was biting as the two mages set out for their second home. Happy was bundled inside of Lucy's winter coat, while Natsu didn't even bother grabbing anything else but what he normally wore. The celestial mage shook her head at the oblivious slayer, but trudged forward, intent on getting to the guild before she lost feeling in _all _of her toes and fingers. The two finally made it five minutes later, and Lucy wasted no time in entering.

Despite the cold weather outside, Fairy Tail was warm and welcoming as usual. Everyone had turned to see who entered, which made Lucy believe that they had missed the original festivities.

"Hello, mina-san!" she greeted cheerfully, unzipping her coat, to release Happy. She had gotten a few funny looks at the randomly appearing cat, but they all greeted her nonetheless. After hanging up her coat, gloves and scarf, she made her way over to her usual seat at the bar. Natsu, on the other hand, immediately screamed for Laxus to come fight him...as he stood right behind Lucy. The blonde turned to punch the boy, preferably in the mouth, before she heard the man's voice cut through the ruckus.

"I suppose you think you can beat me?" The guild quieted almost immediately, and Lucy tensed. Something about the voice rang familiar. Natsu didn't notice his best friend's dilemma, and only grinned in anticipation.

"Of course!" As she watched dark grey boots step down the stairs from the second floor of Fairy Tail, she felt like she was going to have a panic attack. With each 'clunk' her heart seemed to beat faster and faster. When he finally reached the main floor, Lucy's chocolate gaze flicked to his, finding herself frozen in amber orbs. Amber orbs that were watching her as well, a flurry of emotions passing through them. She gripped Natsu's vest tightly within her small hand, causing her knuckles to turn white. The mage finally noticed, and turned to her with a frown. She wretched her gaze from Laxus to Natsu, who immediately registered the terror in her eyes. Swiftly, he placed himself in front of her, blocking Laxus. He leaned into her face, and she could easily read the worry in his inky gaze.

"Luce?" he murmured.

He didn't know what was wrong. One minute, they were fine, she was about to punch his lights out for screaming in her _ear,_ but she was fine, and the next, she looked scared out of her mind. Seeing her watch Laxus so intently, he figured it must've had to do with him, so he blocked the older dragon slayer from view. He tried to get her to focus on him, but she seemed so lost and afraid, it was admittedly breaking his heart to not be able to help her. He could hear Laxus stepping closer, and he knew Lucy could too, by the negative emotions that were building in her scent. He didn't think. The fire dragon slayer growled, low, deep and warning. Laxus had halted at that, as the others all held their breath. Even Lucy. He turned, keeping Lucy against his back as he bared his teeth in a sneer at the lightning dragon slayer. Laxus raised a blond eyebrow, amusement flashing through his honey eyes. The pinkette could see Gajeel, watching with lax curiosity, although his frame was tense, ready to jump in the moment he was needed. With a slight surprise, he found Wendy sitting next to the elder dragon, her expression fierce, no doubt sensing Lucy's terror. When Laxus took another step forward, Natsu's onyx gaze snapped back to him, unforgiving. Laxus laughed now.

"What treasure is this dragon protecting?" His deep voice was slightly taunting, and it only riled Natsu up further. He felt Lucy shudder out a breath behind him before she pressed a dainty hand to his back.

"It's okay Natsu, he's nakama, remember?" Despite what his instincts were telling him, he moved aside. His blonde best friend stood, and he could see that all of those emotions she had earlier were wiped away, and she was smiling. The blonde held her hand out towards Laxus, a genuine smile on her face.

"I'm sorry about that. My name is Lucy, I'm a celestial mage. It's nice to finally meet you Laxus!"


	2. Eyes like chocolate

**Hey guys! I'm glad to have gotten such positive feedback! I want to thank you for your comments, and how quickly you've taken to this story! I really love anything to do with Greek Mythology, and although this story doesn't have too much to do with that, it has just enough that I still feel makes sense with the characters. I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and thank you to those who reviewed! (Rivendell101, GoldenRoseTanya, SheblyTheKoala, Monika-chan, lucasvelaguk)**

She was surprised to see Lucy actually address Laxus after what had just happened. The sky sorceress gritted her teeth to keep from speaking out, but stood to go stand near Lucy. A large, gloved hand stopped her, and she looked down into guarded crimson orbs.

"Bunny-girl's gonna be fine." he gruffed out. "Don't interfere until absolutely necessary." he told her, before releasing her and turning back to watch the scene unfold. Wendy pouted, but listened to the elder dragon. He had never steered her wrong before.

Lucy watched surprise flicker through Laxus' eyes before he reached out and grabbed her hand in his. His hand was warm, but not like Natsu's. It was different, but she couldn't really explain it. He held her hand a minute, and she realized with a slight blush, that he had kept eye contact the whole time. 'He seems nice.' She thought, going to release his hand. Just as she did, she let out a yelp and she was shocked. Literally. Wide brown orbs stared at Laxus and her hand, cradling the appendage.

"Did you do that?" She finally asked. He shook his head no, looking just as disbelieved as her. However, it quickly morphed into realization, and before Lucy could avoid it, Laxus held her arms tightly, his face close to hers.

"Do you know what this means?" His excitement was palpable, even if his voice was in slight awe, at least until Natsu shoved him off of the blonde mage.

"_Don't touch her like that."_ he snarled. The blonde felt like she was being pulled in too many directions that she couldn't get a hold on anything any more. 'And to think my only problem this morning was Natsu sleeping in my bed.' she couldn't help thinking. She reached out absently to grab Natsu's arm.

"Natsu...what are you-" "What's the matter? Don't wanna share?" Right before her eyes, Natsu snapped, lunging for the older slayer, his fists covered in flames. The guild plunged into chaos. Lucy was left watching, dumbfounded, before she felt small hands grab her arm.

"C'mon Lucy-san. We need to get you to safety." She looked over her shoulder to see who was dragging her, catching bright azure hair.

"Wendy?...wait, what about Natsu? And Laxus? My safety?"

"Now isn't the time Lucy." The sky dragon slayer didn't seem inclined to answer questions, and Lucy had had enough. She pulled her hand from the small girl's tight grip, and stopped.

"NO! I haven't been here 10 minutes, and people are trying to _shelter me from SOMETHING!"_ Wendy stopped immediately, turning to stare at the blonde in shock. For a minute, Lucy was worried that she might have hurt the girl's feelings, but a large hand gripped her shoulder.

"Listen to her, bunny-girl. It's for yer own good." Lucy only stared into Gajeel's ruby orbs, not moving. He sighed, annoyed. "Just _trust_ us!" he growled out, prompting Lucy into moving. Her feet propelled her forward as Wendy once again grabbed her wrist, pulling her towards the exit. Just before they made it to the doors, an explosion sounded right behind them, with something, or some_one_ flying into the wall next to the guild doors.

When the smoke cleared, Lucy watched Natsu stand up, wincing slightly as blood ran down from somewhere in his hairline past his temple. The blonde gasped, trying to cover her mouth. She took a step towards him, but he launched himself back towards Laxus. She watched as fear spiked her heart. With the way they were fighting, they were going to kill each other.

His fury drove him as he tried to find some weakness in Laxus. Some place he had slipped up. None. Time and time again, Natsu was deflected. It had become a cycle, with Natsu getting thrown somewhere in the guild, only for him to return to Laxus and have it done to him again. He knew it was pointless and stupid, but his mind had succumbed to his instincts, and he wasn't thinking straight. It only told him to relentlessly attack until he couldn't anymore. He could feel blood dripping down the side of his face, but he barely paid any attention to it. He barely paid attention to anything else but Laxus. At least until someone screamed his name.

Lucy was panting after screaming his name. She knew that she had to do something, but she was not getting between those two _dragons_. She watched her best friend look at her, practically snapping his neck, before frowning at what she realized were her tears. Almost as if he had forgotten his fight with Laxus, he started for her. Wendy tried to step closer to Lucy to ward Natsu off, but he ignored her. The celestial mage could see how badly he had been beaten up, and it broke her heart that he could become so mindless and savage. If it were anyone else, she would probably be terrified, but when he looked at her with such care and worry in his large, obsidian eyes, it broke her heart even more if she would've been. One of his hands reached up to brush the tears away that had spilled over, his frown deepening.

"Don't cry Lucy. I'll go beat him up if he upset you-"

His response seemed to cause her to become even more hysterical, as her tears were running freely now. She shook her head roughly, before grabbing him by his neck and bringing him down to hug him.

"Stupid!" She snapped in his ear, "Can't you see how hurt you are?" The last part was whispered, her voice breaking. Natsu was tense in her hold before he chuckled, patting her head.

"Lucy, you're such a weirdo." he breathed, pulling away from her. Her brown orbs were wide and practically livid. Before she could yell at him, he spoke again, spreading his arms out. "Do I seem hurt to you?" Contemplating what he said, Lucy bit her lip. Although he was covered in blood and bruises, he wasn't winded, and he _seemed_ fine. She finally shook her head and he chuckled again, rubbing her head. "Okay then. Don't worry about me Lucy..." he turned to walk back towards Laxus. "I do enough of that for the both of us."

It seemed like she wasn't supposed to hear that last part, but she did nonetheless. She watched him for a moment, before lunging forward to grab his arm tightly.

"Lucy what-" "Natsu, STOP THIS!" She yelled, turning him towards her. His eyes were wide in shock, but he didn't speak again. "Why are you even fighting him?" His brow furrowed, and he cocked his head.

"He has no right to talk about you like that Lucy. Especially not in front of me." Lucy sighed, exasperated.

"_Please_ Natsu. Stop this pointless fight. He didn't even hurt my feelings."

His immediate response to anyone else would've been his back to their face, but it was _Lucy_. And she was looking up at him with wide, pleading eyes that looked like melted chocolate, and really, Natsu had always loved chocolate, so how could he say no? At least, that's how he explained it to himself as he turned his back on Laxus and sat down at the table that Lucy had walked to, with the other first generation dragon slayers. Behind him, he heard Laxus' guffaw, along with the taunt of "Has the mighty _Salamander_ been tamed by some little girlie?" Lucy glanced to Natsu, who sat with his fists clenched on top of the table. Wendy sat on the other side of him, while Gajeel leaned against the table, across from Lucy, all keeping an eye on the ticking time-bomb that was Natsu.

He had to admit that it came as a surprise when he watched Natsu give in to that girl-Lucy. Simply with just being herself, it seemed, Natsu's mind was made up. The lightning dragon slayer had to admit that his curiosity was more than piqued. First with her being-he shook his head to clear that thought, saving it for when he would go home later that night. He tried taunting his fellow slayer, hoping to get a rise out of him, and he did. He could see it in the boy's tense posture, his clenched fist, he could smell his animosity, but once the blonde laid her hand over Natsu's, he calmed almost immediately. It seemed like she was a calm created to offset the impulsive dragon. Looking over the whole table, his lips quirked in thought. _Maybe for them all._

**Yeahhh...so that happened. Honestly, the end of this chapter fell unconscious and I had to ****_drag _****this puppy to get it to this point. Sorry if the end is so crappy, but regardless, please read and review! I'll love you forever! :)**


	3. Waiting for the other shoe to drop

**I know that you guys might be kinda confused, but just trust me, it'll all make sense in the end. If you're feeling confused or not really sure what's going on, please feel free to message me! I'll try to help clear up whatever isn't too revealing. I hope you guys are enjoying this story, as well as this next chapter! Please read and review :)**

Lucy let out a long sigh as she plopped down on her bed. Ever since the fight between Natsu and Laxus earlier, she felt like she had been holding her breath, waiting for the other shoe to drop. She stared at her ceiling for a couple of minutes, before she heard Wendy tentatively call her name from the bathroom. Lucy smiled and stood up, making her way towards the sky dragon slayer. The small girl had wished to spend the night at Lucy's, and the blonde was more than happy to oblige. When she reached the doorway, she found the small girl looking slightly frazzled.

"Is everything okay, Wendy?" The young girl bit her lip, before she glanced up at Lucy.

"Ano...I hope you aren't mad at Natsu-san for what happened today." Lucy had to admit that she was surprised at the topic of conversation. She contemplated on how to answer the girl.

"It's not that I'm _mad_, per say...but Natsu blew his lid at the smallest, most insignificant provocation!"

"But he had a good reason, Lucy-san!" The small dragon slayer blurted in her haste to defend her fellow dragon slayer-in-arms. The blonde raised a perfectly manicured eyebrow, crossing her arms across her chest and leaning most of her weight against the bathroom door frame, trapping the smaller girl in.

"Is that so?" her tone rang suspicious, which caused Wendy to try and backtrack very quickly.

"I mean, of course! You guys are nakama, and you two especially are really close, and Natsu really didn't understand why he was doing what he was doing, but on some basic level I'm sure some small part of him understands why_..._" Of course Wendy was never the best at lying, and in trying to do such, she had figuratively stuck her own foot in her mouth. Now fully curious at what the younger mage was hiding, Lucy lifted off of the frame, only to step in the bathroom and close the door behind her. She leaned against it for good measure.

"What are you hiding, Wendy-chan?"

They were still at the guild. It was-the iron dragon slayer glanced up at the clock hanging behind the bar-almost midnight, and he was stuck with Salamander at the guild. _Alone._ Everyone else had left, refusing to deal with the still irritated dragon slayer. Gajeel had an inkling suspicion as to why Natsu was still pacing the guild like a caged animal nearly _ten_ hours after his pseudo-fight with Laxus and it had to do with a certain blondie. Just before bunny-girl and Wendy had left, she had forbade Natsu from coming to her house for as long as Wendy was there. She had also told him that if he did, he would no longer have to worry about finding a mate, because she would be sure to dismember him...and she put a lot of emphasis on _member_. It sent a shiver of fear through Gajeel because he wasn't aware that bunny-girl could be so violent and just plain _creepy._

Back to the present situation at hand, Gajeel watched Natsu make fifth pace in front of the guild doors. Earlier he had tried taunting Gajeel into a fight, but he learned rather quickly that that wasn't a good idea. The pink haired idiot was still limping. The iron dragon slayer rolled his eyes.

"Why don't ya just go home?" _so I can._ The fire dragon slayer stopped and turned to Gajeel, a look of surprise on his face.

"Can I?" there was so much hope in Natsu's voice that it made Gajeel want to smack himself-or more likely, Natsu-in the face. He instead, opted for a stare that he was sure Natsu would interpret as Gajeel thinking he were an idiot. Which he was.

"No one said ya couldn't!" Gajeel snapped, partially mad at himself for not telling Natsu this sooner. The younger dragon slayer frowned.

"But Lucy said I couldn't come over until Wendy left..." Gajeel rolled his eyes, about to yell at him for being an idiot, until he processed what the fire dragon slayer had just said. He shook his head, leaning forward, and looked at Natsu carefully, his crimson orbs narrowed.

"What did ya just say?" he asked slowly. Natsu frowned but replied.

"Luce said I couldn't...ahh..." he seemed to have caught himself that time, and looked at Gajeel in confusion. "Huh?"

"Spill it Wendy." The girl twiddled her thumbs, her calves against the tub.

"I don't know what you mean, Lucy-san." The blonde snorted, and lifted her hand to point accusingly at the smallest dragon slayer.

"You know something about Natsu...something about why he's acting the way he is." The blunette quickly shook her head.

"Not at all, Lucy-san. You know as well as I, that dragons are rather possessive of certain things they see as their own." The celestial mage's chocolate eyes were wide.

"So you're telling me, he sees me as a _possession?"_ Lucy hissed quietly. Wendy's hazel orbs widened, and she emphatically shook her head before she caused the murder of one of her nakama.

"NO! No, I didn't mean it like that Lucy-san! I just meant that..." she looked up at the older girl, imploring her to understand. "Lucy, we dragons hold few things so near and dear to us...and you're one of those things." The blonde's lip curled into a sneer, as she cocked her hip and crossed her arms

"As is every other guild mate, Wendy. You're running out of excuses for him." The girl sighed, her mind moving a mile a minute. She wasn't sure how to give Lucy an answer that rang mostly true without revealing something that surely no one was ready for. She wasn't sure if she could do better than what she just had, but would Lucy really allow this conversation to just be brushed aside?

Gajeel wasn't really sure how to respond to what Natsu had just inadvertently admitted. He could only stare blankly at the confused dragon slayer who looked like he was starting to panic. Much to the older man's surprise, Natsu turned on his heel and left the guild. After watching the closed doors for a minute, the iron dragon slayer shot up, following after the pink-haired man. He slammed the doors open and watched as the man was walking off towards the direction of his own home. Gajeel breathed a sigh of relief and slumped against the wall of Fairy Tail.

Wendy freaked. Lucy just kept with the questions and wouldn't let up and she just blurted the first thing that came to her mind.

"He was just mad at Laxus for trying to claim you!"

"_what?_" the blonde whispered. The blunette opened her eyes to peek at the celestial mage's reaction. She wasn't sure when she had closed her eyes. The blonde looked completely shocked and confused, and Wendy couldn't blame her. Most people only had to deal with one, but it seemed that Lucy wasn't given the same fate. The sky sorceress sighed and sat down on the edge of the tub. She clasped her hands in her lap and looked up at Lucy.

"You should sit down."

**Wendy looks like she's about to give Lucy 'The Talk!' Lucky for Gajeel, his night is finally over, but it seems as though Lucy's is only starting...and what about when they all return to the guild the next day? Or will Lucy even show her face? Let me know what you think! I know it's short, and I apologize, but this chapter was fighting me. I know where I wanna take this, but this part seemed to refuse to get with the program.**


	4. Blissful state of false death

**Hey guys. I know it's been awhile, but after some lovely prodding (Ms . Bloodmoon ), I have started on the next chapter! It's gonna pick up here, now that most everything is out in the open, but it's no fun without a plot twist or two. Enjoy.**

Her room was cold when she woke up. Keeping under the covers, she looked around, trying to find out what time it was. Blinking a couple of times, she found that not only was it 9:30, _much_ later than she normally woke up, but Wendy was nowhere to be found. Stepping onto the cold wooden floor that Lucy could feel through her socks, a shiver wracked her body, and she quickly reached for a cardigan. Wrapping it tightly around her, she trekked towards her living room, hoping to find the sky dragon slayer there.

It was _far_ too early to be up. His mouth felt like cotton, which sucked like a bitch, because he hadn't even had the chance to drink last night when he was appointed to be Salamander's babysitter. Mirajane had both locked and counted the stock before she had left last night, along with leaving Gajeel a very in-depth description of what would happen to him if she found even a drop of it missing the next day. Gajeel liked all of his body parts right where they were, thank you very much. Grunting with the effort of lifting his body from it's face down position with tired limbs, he blearily took in his surroundings. Deeming it as his bedroom, he released himself, falling back onto the bed with a whoosh of air. Just as he was about to return to the blissful state of false death, he heard Lily yelling for him.

She found the smaller dragon curled up on her couch, a cup of cocoa in her hands and a large dark blue comforter wrapped over her shoulders. Her eyes lit up, and she smiled.

"Good morning Lucy-san! I hope you slept well. There is some warm cocoa on the counter for you." the blonde nodded, a soft smile on her face from the girl's thoughtfulness. Grabbing the mug, she made her way over to her rocking chair, curling her legs under her person as she sat across from Wendy. The celestial mage bit her lip before she began.

"Ah, Wendy?" the girl blinked and gave Lucy her attention. She knew that the older mage was still thinking about what Wendy had told her last night, although she had seemed to have taken it well.

_'Okay, what? __**Claim!?**__ Is Wendy joking?!' The blonde took a shaky breath, but sat down as Wendy suggested. Looking at the younger girl, Lucy felt as though Wendy were much older than her, much wiser than the celestial mage could ever hope to be. She could see it in the girl's cinnamon colored eyes._

_"What do you mean claim? He never said anything of the sort!" Wendy nodded in agreement._

_"True, __**he**__ never did, but his magic on the other hand...His magic recognized your own, and set claim to you." Lucy thought back immediately to the jolt of electricity she had felt from the oldest dragon slayer. She had thought that he was just playing a prank on her, but Wendy told her that it was another case entirely. Lucy watched the girl steeple her fingers, resting her elbows on her knees._

_"The only good news is that his dragon hasn't seemed to have claimed you, but rather, his human side." Lucy's eyes bugged._

_"Good?" she echoed, "How is that good?!" she wasn't yelling at Wendy, but this information was a lot to take in. However, she just barely heard the girl mutter:_

_"At least we won't have two dragons battling it out." Before the blonde could ask her what she could have possibly meant by that, she was on the next subject. "Listen Lucy, and listen well: Do __**not**__, under any circumstances, find yourself alone with Laxus. At least until this situation can be brought under control." The blonde frowned at that, and sat up straighter._

_"Why not, Wendy-chan?" The girl shifted slightly, a look of indecisiveness flashing over her features. She answered nonetheless, albeit carefully._

_"Laxus recognized your situation almost immediately, while some parties still may not have. We're not exactly sure how he's going to respond if you're without one of us, and I don't want to find out anytime soon." Lucy recognized that 'us' meant the other dragon slayers, and she had to admit that she was touched by their worry. Although she was completely positive that Laxus wouldn't hurt her, she didn't know how she could tell Wendy and the others how she knew that without sounding at least half crazy._

She watched the blonde reminiscing the scene from last night, and waited patiently for her question. Finally, her chocolate orbs refocused and she stared at the sky dragon once more. The gaze was sharp and Wendy was worried that Lucy would ask her to expand on what Wendy had revealed to her last night, and to be honest, Wendy wasn't sure she could. Not without letting everything out into the light, and if she did that, Gajeel would no doubt be disappointed in her and she didn't want that. Thankfully, the blonde's gaze softened, before murmuring a 'thank you.' Although Wendy was unsure exactly what it was for, she accepted it nonetheless, nodding her head before continuing on another conversation.

"So did you sleep well, Lucy-san?"

"Yeah, although it's really cold out!" she exclaimed, rubbing her free hand down her arm. Wendy giggled slightly.

"Yes, I noticed that as well. It might even snow." The girl's cinnamon orbs had lit up at the thought, and Lucy couldn't help but giggle. No matter how wise Wendy was, she was still a young girl. Although Lucy had to admit that she loved the snow as well.

Wendy was right. Halfway to the guild, Lucy watched the small flakes falling from the sky. She stopped walking and looked over to the youngest dragon slayer with a large smile on her face, only to see that Wendy was looking at her with the same expression. Grabbing the smaller girl's hand in her own, she took off towards the guild, their laughter echoing one another's.

_It just had to snow._ Gajeel was less than pleased with this predicament. Now it wasn't that he hated snow, he really didn't, but the fact that cold weather had to be part of the package deal was something else _entirely._ Cold weather was the absolute worse, especially to the iron dragon slayer. The cold made iron brittle, unnervingly so to Gajeel, who rather preferred not having to worry about his strength being lessened. He hated being seen as weak, especially when such was not the case. Irregardless, he had decided to venture outside and towards the guild.

When she entered the guild, a hush had fallen over it, instead of the usual, boisterous greeting. Both girls frowned and looked around. Everyone seemed to be watching them without looking at them. Although it unnerved her, Lucy strode forward towards the bar where Mira was cleaning glasses. The takeover mage had smiled at the blonde and Lucy felt like sighing. Grinning back, she took a seat and leaned forward.

"What's going on here?" the blonde looked around and noticing something missing, she added, "And where is Natsu? He should be here by now." she wasn't watching Mira when she had asked, but Wendy watched the older mage tense, before relaxing when Lucy turned back. The white-haired barmaid tilted her head.

"Ah, Natsu?" she smiled, but it was closed-lipped. "Lisanna had asked him if he wanted to go on a two-week mission with her." Lucy's chocolate orbs widened, but only slightly, before lidding.

"Oh. Okay, well that's fine! I can always go on a solo or with Wendy, if she'll have me." the last part was said with a glance towards Wendy, who nodded to the older girl.

"Of course, Lucy-san!" she seemed shocked the girl even had to ask. The celestial mage smiled and then looked back at Mira who was watching her with a slightly worried expression.

"If you say so..." she murmured. "Just be careful Lucy." The blonde nodded.

"Of course Mira!"

"Hey Blondie!" Lucy tensed as electricity raced over her skin. She couldn't suppress the shiver that followed as she turned to face Laxus. He was tall and imposing, but he stood far enough away that he wasn't intimidating her. He grinned at her.

"I hear you're looking for a partner. Wanna go on a mission with me?" Lucy's immediate reaction was to say yes, but Wendy stepped slightly in front of the celestial mage.

"I was going to ask Lucy-san if she wished to go on a mission with me." Lucy, nor Laxus missed the slight edge to the youngest dragon slayer's normally kind tone. Lucy frowned, but only looked at Wendy. Laxus chuckled, a wide grin revealing his fangs.

"Ah, well then we can all go together." Wendy smiled like the cat that ate the canary.

"Would that suffice, Gajeel-san?" Lucy spun quickly, seeing Gajeel walking over towards their small group from where he just entered. Lucy noticed that even though he had on his leather jacket and his usual gloves, he still looked cold. _I'll have to ask him about it later._ The large dragon slayer smirked, although Lucy could've sworn that it turned menacing for a minute.

"Sure. If it's alright with Sparky." Laxus snorted.

"Whatever. We'll meet up at the train station in an hour. That sound good?" his tone rang with a challenge, but Lucy ignored it and smiled at him.

"Sounds great!" she hopped off of the stool, missing him slightly dumbstruck expression, and started for the doors. Not a minute later, Wendy and Gajeel shadowed her, the three heading to their houses and Fairy Hills to pack for Laxus' impromptu mission.

"Okay, so it's a two-week mission, but with us four, it should be half that time, so I'll pack enough for the week. I know that we're also going to the southern most point of Fiore, so I'll also pack some summer clothes that I left out." Packing up the rest of her necessities, she made her way towards her door, taking a glance around her apartment. Smiling softly, she turned off the lights and left.

When Lucy finally made it to the train station, she saw that Gajeel and Wendy were already there. The blunette was sitting on a bench, swinging her legs and talking to Gajeel. Both Lily and Carla were off to the side, conversing as well. She watched Wendy sniff the air before looking over at Lucy, a wide smile on her face.

"Lucy-san!" she waved animatedly. The blonde couldn't help but laugh and wave back with just as much fervor. Gajeel could only scoff and roll his eyes at the two, but Lily noticed the small quirk of his lips, even if he wouldn't admit it aloud. The blonde finally made her way over, and hugged Wendy, while greeting Gajeel and the cats. She sat down between the two, and struck up a conversation with Lily as Carla sat next to her dragon slayer. After 10 minutes had passed, Laxus finally sauntered towards the group. He grinned at Gajeel's cold glare, but locked onto Lucy.

"Oi, let's go guys. This train ride's going to be a long one." they all stood and made their way onto the locomotive.

An hour into the trip, Lucy and the cats had fallen asleep. The blonde leaned against Gajeel, much to his disinclination, while Wendy sat to her left by the window. Laxus sat across from the three, an amused, but at the same time, annoyed expression on his face. Gajeel noticed, and his uncomfortable expression turned into a sneer.

"Whaddya looking at _Sparky?_" his low growl reverberated through the blonde leaning on his arm, causing her to stir slightly. Wendy shot the two male slayers a sharp glare.

"_Hush._" she hissed. "We all know the situation here, so we should all be more understanding." she whispered, softly, knowing the two men could hear her clearly. She watched the two men back down, and leaned back into the train cushion. The sky sorceress was glad that it was relatively calm, because she had an uncomfortable feeling that something was going to happen. She could only hope that they could stop whatever it was going to be.

It was a rather uneventful two-weeks, with Natsu and the others all on missions. Gray and Erza had returned from theirs, the day after Lucy and the others left. Despite the return of half of team Natsu, Mira found that it just wasn't the same without all of them there. Regardless, the barmaid could only excitedly count down the days until her other nakama returned. If she was correct, and she almost always _was_, everyone would be returning today. As if on cue, the guild doors were slammed open, along with Natsu's boisterous call of "We're back!" Mira greeted him and her sister with a smile, as Lisanna made her way to the bar, and Natsu disappeared, most likely in search for a fight with Gray. The two siblings conversed for a few minutes before Natsu ran up, his eyes curious.

"Ne, Mira...where's Lucy?" without missing a beat, she smiled at him.

"She went on a mission with the other dragon slayers."

"..." a minute too late, she remembered the fact that Natsu was not so inclined towards the lightning dragon slayer, for reasons unexplained, and warranted a glance towards him. Just like she assumed, his gaze had darkened, his posture tense. She opened her mouth, trying to think of _anything _to say to make the situation better, but before she could, the guild doors opened again, letting in the four mages they were just speaking of. The scene, however, was one that Mira would not have believed, had she not seen it for herself. Gajeel had strolled in first, looking rather disgruntled with the world, while the other three came in behind him, with Wendy holding the celestial mage's hand. That, in itself, was a normal enough occurrence. What was not, however, was how Lucy stood nearly arm-to-arm with Laxus, barely taking a step away from him. Instead of looking smug, the lightning dragon slayer had such a somber expression, that Mira couldn't help but feel that this situation was something worse than what it looked like. Natsu didn't seem to read the mood, and walked over to the group.

"Luce!" he greeted, although his voice had an edge to it. Her cocoa orbs trailed over Natsu's form, looking at him curiously. Her head tilted to the side, and she broke the silence that had engulfed the guild when they all walked in.

"Do I know you?"

**XxXxXx**

**So how was that? I will eventually tell you guys what happened on the mission, but I rather like where this story is going. I know that some of you guys like Laxus/Lucy, and a lot of y'all are Nalu shippers like myself, but I've always wanted to see what a friendship/relationship between our two resident blondes would be like. That is not to say that that pairing will end up as Endgame, but I want to take a different approach on the relationships that Lucy holds with the others. I hope you guys like it, and as always, review and let me know what you think. :)**


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